Fred Borch's Opinion of Lincoln

[Rob Wick]

(09-30-2024 11:42 AM)Gene C Wrote:  Getting a little overwhelmed by the direction of this conversation.
Don't worry. Here are my Cliff Notes so you don't have to read everything.

The study of history (specifically Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War) and the understanding of democracy does not get the attention it deserves in most of our public schools.
On the other hand, some people consider this "indoctrination" and "nonsense"

Disclaimer - That may not quite be what was said, but that's what I heard.

Gene,

I don't question whether students should get a proper education on American democracy. Of course they should. Where I draw the line is making a mandatory course on Lincoln and the Civil War. As David would design the course, it IS indoctrination because David would never allow all sides of the Lincoln question to be studied. He would rather make it a "rah rah" course on all of Father Abraham's superiority leaving out the areas that Lincoln was not quite as noble. And there are several places where he wasn't.

I'm in the middle of reading Jon Meacham's book on Lincoln, and I can just see David having a fit when Meacham doesn't raise Lincoln to the high heavens, which he often does not. Yet, Meacham's picture is a more nuanced portrait of Lincoln's evolution on the issue of slavery and basic human rights. I've often stated before that David's position is given out of fear. He's afraid that Lincoln cannot stand up to criticism, fair or unfair, so Lincoln needs protection. I, on the other hand, believe that Lincoln's reputation has survived all these decades in spite of those whose criticism IS highly unfair and yet we continue to celebrate his life and his work.

Much of my current viewpoint is informed by my study of Tarbell. Tarbell was often accused of hero-worship, but that was usually by academic historians who approached the topic promoting their own hobby horses. Yet reading through her letters, articles, and speeches has convinced me that she is about as far from a hero-worshipper than anyone could be. She definitely admired and respected Lincoln, but she was well-aware that deification of Lincoln took him out of the sphere of the common man, making it impossible for that common man (and woman) to utilize the lessons that Lincoln could reasonably teach us.

I'm not really sure why you're overwhelmed by the direction of this conversation, but this is where I am coming from.

Best
Rob